Control for card feed



J. B. LOHR CONTROL F Oct. 6, 1964 OR CARD FEED Filed March 29 FIG.

r0 Q m FIG.2

INVENTOR. JOSEPH B LOH R AGENT United States Patent 3,151,863 CONTROLFOR CARD FEED Joseph B. Lohr, Wayne, N.J., assignor to MonroeInternational Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 29,1962, Ser. No. 183,616 4 Claims. (Cl. 271-18) The present invention hasrelation to an improvement for record card feed devices of the typeemployed in connection with tabulating machines or the like, and moreparticularly to a means for assuring that record cards fed seriatim froma stacked hopper will be brought to the usual data analyzing station ina successive single order manner.

Apparatus of the above type usually comprise a magazine within whichrecord cards are stacked and either a picker device or a feed belt cardconveyor acts to feed the cards singly from the bottom of the stackalong a plane normal to the stacked cards. The cards are fed from themagazine through a suitable throat opening which usually includes a camplate adapted for guiding the card into a suitable card passage wherethe card is conveyed to known data analyzing devices. While the throatopening of the magazine is constructed to normally restrict passage toone card at a time it has been found that frequently due toirregularities of card thickness and to changes in the coeflicient offriction thereof caused by climatic conditions, ink dyes etc., more thanone card at a time is apt to be forced along the cam plate and outthrough the throat opening. This, because of card overlap will cause amisinterpretation of the information thereon to occur at the dataanalyzing station.

An object of the present invention is to obviate such a condition byproviding special card stop means to assure that only one card at anygiven time is moved to the analyzing station.

The manner in which the above and other objects are accomplishedtogether with the advantages and features of the invention, will appearmore fully from the following detailed description and drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a left side elevation of a card hopper with the casing brokenaway, showing the stacked cards and card feeding devices.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail left side elevation showing the means forpreventing more than one card at any one time from advancing to thesensing station.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the parts of FIG. 2.

The invention is shown in relation to the devices disclosed in US.Patent 2,938,667 issued May 31, 1960, to Fritz A. Deutsch and assignedto the Monroe Calculating Machine Company.

With reference to the drawings, the card magazine is formed with a baseplate 11 and side guide plates 12 and 13, the near plate 12 in thedrawings being cut away so as to expose the record cards 14 stackedwithin the magazine. Vertical end guides 15 and 16 complete the cardenclosure and it will be observed that the lower terminal portion of thevertically disposed guide wall 16 terminates in a finger 17 which isangularly disposed in the direction of movement of the record cards,indicated by the arrow.

Extending beneath the cards 14, stacked within magazine 10, is a pair ofhorizontally disposed parallel spaced conveyor belts 1819 drivencontinuously by suitable means well known to the art. Finger 17 isdisposed very close to the conveyor belts 18-19 but is raised slightlythereabove just suflicient to provide a throat opening through which onecard at a time is designed normally to be fed out of the magazine and tothe analyzing station, indicated by the sensing wheel 20.

Secured by means of studs 21 to the plate 16 and spaced forwardlytherefiom by suitable spacing collars 22 is a 3,151,863 Patented Oct. 6,1964 frame plate 23 having provided at the right and left ends thereofforwardly bent projections 24, 25 respectively. Pivotally mounted at 26,27 upon each of the respective projections 24, 25 are similar bell cranklevers 28', 29 having each an inwardly extending projection 30 overlyingthe card passage. Each of said bell crank levers is biased in acounterclockwise direction by respective springs 31, 32. Thusprojections 39 are held normally in engagement with the top surface ofbase plate 11 and in manner angularly disposed thereto whereby toreceive an advancing card.

Plate 23 extends downwardly to present a wall in a plane perpendicularto the movement of any card and ends just short of the base plate 11sufficient to permit a single card at a time to pass beneath said plate.It will be observed that as any single card is advanced past the firstthroat opening, formed by the angular member 17, the forward edge of thecard engages the angularly disposed projections 34) and will be heldfirmly against the surface of base plate 11 by the yieldable bell cranks28, 29. Thus the card will be guided to pass beneath the vertical wallplate 23 and so to the analyzing station 20.

As earlier described finger 17 is angularly disposed to form a camsurface in the direction of card travel and at times due to variationsin the card thickness and to various inks used on the card surfaces asucceeding card is caused to be carried forward by the friction of alead card and the succeeding card is forced downwardly along the camfinger 17 to pass through the magazine throat at the same time as doesthe lead card. In such an advent the upper card will now ride under theprojection 30 and will be stopped by the vertical wall of plate 23 asbell cranks 28, 29 yield in clockwise direction. Thereafter as the lowercard continues in movement to pass beyond plate 23 said bell cranks willdepress the lead edge of the upper card downwardly and free of wall 23,so that said card will now immediately follow the lead card in properorder through the throat opening formed by said plate 23 with base plate11.

In practice it has been found that the above described devices havegreatly improved the speed in which successive cards may be fed from amagazine and also materially improves operations of the tabulatingdevice by eliminating jamming and misoperations that otherwise haveoccurred heretofore as more than a single card would frequently becaused to feed at the same time from the card hopper.

Now having described the invention and the preferred embodiment thereof,it is to be understood that the invention is to be limited, not to thespecific details herein set forth, but only by the scope of the claimswhich follow.

I claim:

1. In a record feeding device having:

means for advancing a record form,

a magazine for stacking record forms for operation by said advancingmeans and including a base support for the record forms,

a guide wall having an end portion terminating spaced from said basesupport whereby to effect a throat opening therewith for emitting recordforms seriatim the magazine;

the combination therewith of a positive stop control means comprising anonyieldable stop member perpendicular to the direction of record feed,spaced forwardly of said throat opening in the direction of record feedand being spaced sufficiently from the base support to permit a singleform at any given time to pass beneath said member while interceptingand positively stopping forward movement of any record form superimposedover the first said record form, and

a yieldable means interposed between said throat opening and saidpositive stop control means, in proximity to said nonyieldable memberand biased toward said base support whereby to engage and depress theleading portion of any said record forms.

2. In a record feeding device having:

means for advancing a record form,

a magazine for stacking record forms for operation by said advancingmeans and including a base sup- 7 port for the record forms,

a guide wall having an end portion angularly disposed in a direction ofrecord form feed movement and terminating spaced from said base supportwhereby to effect a throat opening therewith for emitting record formsseriatim from the magazine;

the combination therewith of a positive stop control means comprising amember having a surface perpendicular to the direction of record formfeed and being spaced sufiiciently from the base support means to permita single record form at any given time to pass beneath said member whileintercepting for instantly stopping forward movement of any record formsuperimposed over the first said record form, and

a yieldable means interposed between said throat opening and saidpositive stop control means, in proximity to said perpendicular surface.and biased toward said base support whereby to engage and depress theleading edge of any said superimposed record forms free of saidperpendicular surface following a feeding operation of the precedingrecord form.

3. In a record feeding device the combination comprising:

a record support means,

means for advancing a record form along said support means,

a hopper for storing the record forms for operation by said advancingmeans,

an exit throat opening for passing the record forms seriatim from saidhopper;

a secondary throat passage spaced forward in the direction of the recordmovement,

said secondary throat passage including a fixed stop wall perpendicularto the record movement and spaced from the record support means forpermitting single forms to pass through in successive manner whileintercepting and effecting immediate stopping of the feed movement ofany form superimposed upon another form,

yieldable means within said secondary throat passage,

overlying the path of movement of the record forms and angled thereto sothat an advancing form is guided to pass under said means whereby toforce the forms against their support in proximity to said secondarythroat passage,

and wherein said yieldable means following feeding of a leading recordform past said secondary throat passage will act to release any recordform superimposed upon said leading form from said fixed stop wall andthereby permit a feeding operation of said superimposed record formimmediately subsequent to a leading record form being fed past the saidsecondary throat opening.

4. In a record feeding device comprising:

a record form support means,

means for advancing a record form along said support means,

a hopper for stacking the record forms for operation by said advancingmeans,

said hopper including a cam surface upon which the trailing end of therecord forms are elevated,

a first throat opening for passing the record forms seriatim from saidhopper and including a guide wall angularly disposed in a direction ofrecord feed, in combination therewith a secondary throat opening spacedforward in the direction of record feed to said first throat open mg,

said secondary throat opening including a stop wall perpendicular to therecord feed movement and spaced from the record support means forpermitting single forms to pass through said secondary throat opening insuccessive manner while in positive manner intercepting and immediatelystopping at said secondary throat opening any forms superimposed oneupon another, and

spring tensioned means between the first said throat opening and thesecond said throat opening and having a cam surface for deflecting afirst record form along said perpendicular wall into said secondarythroat opening, said means adapted for thereafter releasing from saidwall any said superimposed record form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS771,384 Munson Oct. 4, 1904 1,643,646 Swift Sept. 27, 1927 1,707,080Dyer Mar. 26, 1929 1,948,362 Staude Feb. 20, 1934 2,116,475 Daneke May3, 1938 2,737,388 Gottscho Mar. 6, 1956 2,922,643 Lopez Jan. 26, 1960UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,151,863 October 6 1964 Joseph B Lohr It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 60, after "seriatim" insert from Signed and sealed this26th day of January 1965.,

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents ERNEST W. SWIDER AttestingOfficer

1. IN A RECORD FEEDING DEVICE HAVING: MEANS FOR ADVANCING A RECORD FORM,A MAGAZINE FOR STACKING RECORD FORMS FOR OPERATION BY SAID ADVANCINGMEANS AND INCLUDING A BASE SUPPORT FOR THE RECORD FORMS, A GUIDE WALLHAVING AN END PORTION TERMINATING SPACED FROM SAID BASE SUPPORT WHEREBYTO EFFECT A THROAT OPENING THEREWITH FOR EMITTING RECORD FORMS SERIATIMTHE MAGAZINE; THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A POSITIVE STOP CONTROL MEANSCOMPRISING A NONYIELDABLE STOP MEMBER PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OFRECORD FEED, SPACED FORWARDLY OF SAID THROAT OPENING IN THE DIRECTION OFRECORD FEED AND BEING SPACED SUFFICIENTLY FROM THE BASE SUPPORT TOPERMIT A SINGLE FORM AT ANY GIVEN TIME TO PASS BENEATH SAID MEMBER WHILEINTERCEPTING AND POSITIVELY STOPPING FORWARD MOVEMENT OF ANY RECORD FORMSUPERIMPOSED OVER THE FIRST SAID RECORD FORM, AND A YIELDABLE MEANSINTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID THROAT OPENING AND SAID POSITIVE STOP CONTROLMEANS, IN PROXIMITY TO SAID NONYIELDABLE MEMBER AND BIASED TOWARD SAIDBASE SUPPORT WHEREBY TO ENGAGE AND DEPRESS THE LEADING PORTION OF ANYSAID RECORD FORMS.